Using Research And Reason In Education

As professionals, teachers can become more effective and powerful by developing the skills to recognize scientifically based practice and, when the evidence is not available, use some basic research concepts to draw conclusions on their own. This paper offers a primer for those skills that will allow teachers to become independent evaluators of educational research.

In a move toward standards-based reform in public educ., many educ'l. reform efforts require schools to demonstrate that they are achieving educational outcomes with students performing at a required level of achievement. Testing provides a useful calibrator, but it requires contextual sensitivity in interpretation. This report shows how research-based and reason-based educ'l. practice are also crucial for determining the quality and impact of programs. Teachers can develop the skills to recognize scientifically based practice &, when the evidence is not avail., use basic research concepts to draw conclusions on their own. Here is a primer for those skills that will allow teachers to become independent evaluators of educational research.

Many educational reform efforts require schools to demonstrate that they are achieving educational outcomes with students performing at a required level of achievement. Evidence of instructional effectiveness can come from: demonstrated student achievement in formal testing situations; published findings of research-based evidence that the instructional methods being used by teachers lead to student achievement; or proof of reason-based practice that converges with a research-based consensus in the scientific literature. Teachers can develop the skills to recognize scientifically based practice. This report offers a primer for those skills that will allow teachers to become independent evaluators of educational research.

In the recent move toward standards-based reform in public education, many educationalreform efforts require schools to demonstrate that they are achieving educational outcomeswith students performing at a required level of achievement. Federal and state legislation, inparticular, has codified this standards-based movement and tied funding and other incentivesto student achievement. At first, demonstrating student learning may seem like a simple task, but reflection reveals thatit is a complex challenge requiring educators to use specific knowledge and skills. Standards basedreform has many curricular and instructional prerequisites. The curriculum mustrepresent the most important knowledge, skills, and attributes that schools want their studentsto acquire because these learning outcomes will serve as the basis of assessment instruments.Likewise, instructional methods should be appropriate for the designed curriculum. Teachingmethods should lead to students learning the outcomes that are the focus of the assessmentstandards. As professionals, teachers can become more effective and powerful by developing the skills torecognize scientifically based practice and, when the evidence is not available, use some basicresearch concepts to draw conclusions on their own. This booklet offers a primer for those skillsthat will allow teachers to become independent evaluators of educational research.

Conducting Educational Research: A Primer for Teachers and Administrators is designed to provide the step-wise, content-specific information masters students must possess to design, conduct, and disseminate a qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods classroom or school research study.

Action research, explored in this book, is a seven-step process for improving teaching and learning in classrooms at all levels. Through practical examples, research tools, and easy-to-follow "implementation strategies," Richard Sagor guides readers through the process from start to finish. Learn how to uncover and use the data that already exist in your classrooms and schools to answer significant questions about your individual or collective concerns and interests. Sagor covers each step in the action research process in detail: selecting a focus, clarifying theories, identifying research questions, collecting data, analyzing data, reporting results, and taking informed action. Drawing from the experience of individual teachers, faculties, and school districts, Sagor describes how action research can enhance teachers' professional standing and efficacy while helping them succeed in settings characterized by increasingly diverse student populations and an emphasis on standards-based reform. The book also demonstrates how administrators and policymakers can use action research to bolster efforts related to accreditation, teacher supervision, and job-embedded staff development. Part how-to guide, part inspirational treatise, Guiding School Improvement with Action Research provides advice, information, and encouragement to anyone interested in reinventing schools as learning communities and restructuring teaching as the true profession it was meant to be.